Christmas in Avengers Tower
by SlytherinWarriorSlayer
Summary: 25 days of christmas in the Avengers Tower. Natasha and Pepper's romantic relationship starts gradually and has bumps in the road. Can they work things out?
1. The Start of Something New

**A/N:** This is for the Natasha Romanoff Big Bang on Tumblr.  
Story Art: post/133145513298/i-didnt-know-you-could-knit-the-art-of-wooing  
post/133145596557/what-i-want-for-christmas-this-year-is-for-pepper  
post/133147293887/i-drew-a-pic-of-nat-and-pepper-building-a-snowman 

**1st December  
** It was the first day of December in the Avengers Tower and everyone was already in the holiday spirit. There was a loud knock on Natasha's bedroom door, before a male voice woke her up. "Nat come on! We're going to put up the tree!" Clint shouted through the thick metal door.

Natasha rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stretched and then got out of bed. She put on some clothes, got Pepper's gift and left to go to the main floor living room. In the room, near the door was a six foot real Christmas tree. Natasha, Pepper and the other Avengers dragged the tree to the corner of the room. They placed it in a tree stand and stood it up right. While Steve and Tony went to get the decorations, Natasha got the gift from where she had left it by the door and gave it to Pepper.

"What's this?" Pepper asked.

"Just something I made" Natasha answered. Pepper unwrapped the gift and found a wool jumper inside. She unfolded it to find a snowman on the front of it. The snowman had a Christmas hat on its head.

"Thank you. It's lovely. I didn't know you could knit."

"I have many skills."

Pepper kissed Natasha on the cheek and put on the jumper, before joining the others to put up the decorations. Natasha got some lights and wrapped them around the tree. Pepper and Thor put up stockings on the fireplace and reefs on the doors. Tony and Steve were arguing over what to put on top of the tree. Steve wanted the angel and Tony wanted the star on top.

"Why don't we put it to a vote?" Natasha suggested.

"That's a good idea" Tony agreed.

"Put your hand up if you want the angel on top." Steve, Thor and Clint raised their hands. "Put your hand up if you want the star on top." Tony, Natasha, Pepper and Bruce raised their hands. "Looks like the star's going on top." Natasha affirmed. Tony wasted no time in putting it on the tree. When the tree was fully decorated, Pepper plugged in the lights and turned them on. The tree looked magical. They stood back and admired it for a moment.

"Shall we decorate the rest of the building?" Thor asked.

"Yeah. Me, you and Clint will decorate the outside. Everyone else can decorate the other floors" Tony answered.

"That's a lot of floors" Bruce reminded.

"Just decorate the top ten floors. The one's we all use daily." Tony called his suit and once it had assembled on him, he, Clint and Thor left to decorate the outside of the tower. Thor and Clint took the lights out side with them. They strung the light around the front doors of the building. Tony flew up onto the roof to put a big Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer figurine that had lights on the roof.

Bruce, Steve, Natasha and Pepper left the top floor with boxes of decorations and went down floor by floor, decorating every room. They started with the 9th floor down, Tony's floor. Then they went down to Pepper's floor. Then Natasha's floor. Then Clint's floor. Then Bruce's floor. Then Thor's floor. Then Steve's floor. Once Steve's floor was decorated the split into two groups to finish faster. Bruce and Steve decorated the guest floor. Natasha and Pepper decorated the entertainment floor.

Once they'd decorated all of the top ten floors, Natasha led the way out of the building to have a look at the outside. Tony had programmed the blue lights built into the building to turn red and green. The changed patterns randomly. The Santa on the roof was clear to see, it was so big. There was a huge reef above the front entrance.

"Merry Christmas Pepper" Natasha said, with a smile.

"Merry Christmas Nat" Pepper replied, returning the smile and holding her hand.

 **2** **nd** **December**  
Early afternoon on the second day of December, Natasha and Pepper were in the kitchen setting out ingredients on the counters. They were baking Christmas cookies. Pepper had gotten Natasha to agree to it, even though she was reluctant. Natasha couldn't say no to Pepper's puppy dog face. They measured out each ingredient and added it to the bowl, before stirring it all together to make dough. Then Natasha took is out of the bowl and separated it into two balls. They each took a rolling pin and flattened the dough.

Once it was 1cm thick, they got Christmas cutter. Natasha had a Christmas tree and Pepper had a snowman. They cut as many shapes out of the dough as they could and put them onto the baking trays. When the trays were full, they placed them into the oven to cook. While they were cooking however, Pepper picked up some flower off the side and threw it at Natasha. It landed on her cheek, causing her to glare at Pepper before cracking a smile and threw some back.

It quickly escalated into a food fight. The ingredients got all over them and the kitchen. When they were both covered, they burst out laughing. Steve chose that moment to walk into the room. "Guys, you're supposed to be baking cookies not covering the walls!" He scolded.

"Oh cheer up Grandpa" Natasha teased.

"Just clean it up." Steve left the room again shaking his head. Natasha and Pepper burst out laughing again, before cleaning up the kitchen.

"Ugh! I have flower in my bra!" Pepper complained. "I need to take a shower."

"I do too" Natasha added, as they walked into the elevator.

"Maybe we should share" Pepper flirted.

"I'm not sure that is a good idea. The cookies would burn." Natasha's cheeks were the same shade as her hair. Once they had both had separate showers, they returned to the kitchen in clean clothes to take the cookies out of the oven. They left them on the counter to cool, with a note warning people not to eat them.

While they waited, they had a glass of wine each and got to talking on the living room sofa. "So…have you and Clint ever dated?" Pepper asked.

"No, he was married when I met him and besides, he's not my type" Natasha answered.

"What is your type?"

"Good looking red heads are a favourite of mine. But I can sleep with anyone."

"Anyone in particular that you're interested in?"

"I believe it's my turn to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Why'd you break up with Tony?"

"We argued too much and I realised we don't have a lot in common. I also saw the way that he looked at Bruce."

"Are you interested in someone else?"

"I wasn't for a while after we broke up, but then an old friend walked into my life again and I fell for them. What about you?"

"There's this one person I'm interested in but I don't know if they like me back. And if they do I don't want to put them in danger." They were quiet for a moment before remembering the cookies and returning to the kitchen. They made green and white icing to decorate the cookies. Once they were decorated, they left them to set. Pepper couldn't forget about their conversation and she didn't want to forget.

"Who is it that you like?"

"This beautiful red head, who is CEO of a major corporation." She wouldn't look at Pepper, but she could feel Pepper's eyes on her.

"I'm already 'in danger' you know" Pepper reminded gently.

"I know and I don't want to add to that. If people knew you were not only Tony Stark's best friend and CEO of Stark Industries, but my girlfriend too, you would be in even more danger and I don't want to be the cause of that." Natasha left the room, not wanting to talk about it any longer.

 **3** **rd** **December**  
When Natasha woke up on the third day of December, the light streaming in from the window seemed duller than usual. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, still half asleep, as she got out of bed. Natasha walked over to the window, while stretching to look outside. She pulled back the curtains and was greeted with a beautiful sight. There was a thick layer of snow covering the ground and every other horizontal surface. Snow was still falling lightly as far as she could see.

The door hissed open, but Natasha didn't need to see who it was. Only one other person could open her door. "It looks nice out there, doesn't it" Pepper commented.

"I've seen better…but yeah" Natasha replied vaguely.

"Do you want to go Christmas shopping with me?"

"Sure, I haven't bought anyone's present yet."

"I'll meet you downstairs in 30 minutes." Pepper left and Natasha had a shower before getting dressed into form fitting black leather trousers, black leather boots and a blue shirt. She put on some light make up and dried her hair. Natasha left her room and made her way down to the garage. She got into her black BMW i8, drove around to the front of the tower and stopped in front of Pepper, opening the door for her. "Get in loser, we're going shopping." Natasha has a playful smirk on her lips.

Pepper rolled her eyes at her and got in the car, shutting the door and putting her seatbelt on, before they drove off. They pulled up to the mall's car park and got out.

"Where do you want to go first?" Pepper asked as they entered the main building.

"I have no idea, I don't know what to get everyone" Natasha answered. "But I do need some caffeine." They went into Starbucks to get their morning coffee. Natasha ordered a Sumatra and Pepper ordered an Ethiopia. Once they got their coffees, they headed to JC Penney, Hallmark, Game Stop, Radio Shack, Aeropostale, Top Gun and Victoria's Secret. They got presents for their friends and family, including each other, they split up so the presents would be a surprise.

At lunch time, Natasha and Pepper went to the nearby McDonalds on 10th Avenue & 34th Street. They ordered a meal each, then sat down at a table together. "It's nice to have a white Christmas" Pepper said.

"It's technically not a white Christmas yet as it's not Christmas day. The snow might melt by then" Natasha told her.

"Earlier, when you said you've seen sights more beautiful, what did you mean?"

"Exactly that." Natasha focussed her sight on the chips she was eating.

"Yes, but what sights?" This time Natasha looked up at Pepper trough her eye lashes.

"I have a better view right now." They shared a smile before continuing to eat their meals. When they finished eating, they put their rubbish in the bin and left the restaurant. They got back into Natasha's BMW i8 before either of them spoke again.

As Natasha pulled away from the parking spot, Pepper spoke. "We have to talk about this Nat."

"About what?" She was playing innocent.

"You know what Natasha. I like you and you like me. I want to talk about it."

"We have talked Pepper. If you were ever kidnapped by Loki or another evil bastard, I couldn't bare it."

"It's possible for me to get kidnapped whether we're dating or not. If I did I'm sure you and our friends would stop at nothing to rescue me. Don't you want to be with me?"

Natasha exhaled loudly. "Of course I do Pepper, but it's not that simple. Not with my job. I'm sorry. I wish I could but I can't. I can't do that to you."

 **4** **th** **December**  
Natasha went into the kitchen to get a mug of coffee, when she saw Pepper sitting at the island, a tablet in one hand and a mug on the surface in front of her. Natasha poured herself a drink, before sitting down opposite Pepper. "Are you mad at me?" Natasha asked.

"No. I was a little bit annoyed last night, but I understand your reasoning. I do, however, wish you'd change your mind" Pepper answered.

"I wish I could. You don't know how hard this is." They were silent for a while, Pepper reading the latest news relating to Stark Industries and Natasha lost in thought.

"Do you want to build a snowman?" Pepper's voice snapped Natasha out of her thoughts.

"Sure." They bundled up in thick winter coats, fur boots, scarfs, hats and gloves before stepping outside into the deep snow. It was at least one foot deep. Natasha worked on the bottom of the snowman, while Pepper worked on the middle. Natasha made a small ball of snow, then rolled it around the street gathering more snow to make the ball bigger.

When it was big enough, she rolled it next to the entrance of the tower, where Pepper was just finishing her part. They both lifted the middle ball and placed it on the bigger one. They used more snow to make sure the two balls stayed together.

"We're going to need sticks, stones, a hat and a scarf" Pepper mentioned. "I'll get them while you make the head."

Pepper went inside the tower as Natasha made another snow ball. By the time she had finished that, Pepper had returned. They put the last ball on top of the snowman and attached it with more snow. Pepper put the hat on its head, Natasha put the scarf around its neck, Pepper used some of Clint's arrows for arms and Natasha used the fake coal from the fireplace as eyes and a mouth. They stood back to admire their handy work.

"I want a photo" Natasha said as she got out her Samsung phone.

"Take one of me with it" Pepper stood by the snowman and Natasha took the photo. Then Natasha stood by the snowman and Pepper took her photo. She gave the phone back to Natasha and lay down on the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a snow angel." Pepper moved her arms and legs to make an angel. Just then the others came out of Avengers Tower.

"What have you two been doing?" Bruce asked.

"We built a snowman" Pepper answered, standing up.

"Lame!" Tony shouted, teasing them.

"You guys want to join us?" Steve asked.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asked.

"We're going to have a snowball fight" Clint informed them.

"Yeah!" Pepper accepted enthusiastically. They walked around to the side of the building where the snow was untouched.

"We should split into two teams" Tony suggested. Everyone agreed and split into two groups of three. Each team built a snow wall to hide behind and then the game started. Clint's throws were very accurate on Tony's team, but Natasha's throws were faster on her team, so it evened out. They played for a few hours, until everyone was worn out. By the end of the game, everyone had been hit several times, but they had all had fun.

It was dark by the time the game was over and they all headed inside. Natasha wanted an early night, so she headed to her room and hopped in the shower to warm up and get the snow out of her hair. She was in there a lot longer than normal and by the time she re-entered her bedroom in her pyjamas, Pepper was in her bed. Natasha got into her bed next to her.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asked.

"Sleeping" Pepper answered.

"Why here?"

"I had a bad dream last night." Natasha turned the light off and lay down. She wrapped her arms around Pepper protectively and they soon fell asleep together. Natasha never wanted Pepper to be scared and she's always be there if she needed her.

 **5** **th** **December**  
That morning Pepper woke up to find no sign of Natasha and the sheets were cold. On Natasha's pillow was an envelope addressed to Santa. But it also had Pepper's name on it. She sat up in bed, leaned against the headboard and opened the letter.

 _Dear Santa,  
What I want for Christmas this year is for Pepper to be happy. I want you to do all you can to make that happen and I will as well. I also want her to find true love. She deserves better than me. Pepper deserves someone who will love her with everything they have and who doesn't put her in danger. Someone who puts her first before their job or anything else. She deserves to find her soulmate._

From Natasha

Pepper teared up at this confession from Natasha and shook her head at the stubborn woman. She got out of bed and went to her own room to get dressed. Pepper couldn't find Natasha anywhere in the tower, but she did find the other Avengers in the main floor's living room. They were all sitting on the couches, letters in their hands. The conversation paused when Pepper entered the room.

Pepper sat down next to Tony and leaned heavily against the back of the couch, resting her head on it. "Has anyone seen Nat?" Pepper asked, staring at the ceiling.

"No" Steve answered for the group. "You've got a letter too then?"

"Yeah, what did yours say?"

"It said Nat wants me to start dating again."

"Mine said Nat wants me to be happy with Jane" Thor added.

"Mine said Nat wants me to be able to forgive myself" Bruce said.

"My letter said Nat wants me to be happy with my family and bring them to the tower to visit over Christmas" Clint said.

"Nat wants me to seek help for my anxiety and to be happy with Bruce" Tony informed them.

"What does yours say?" Bruce asked Pepper.

"It says, that Natasha wants me to be happy. She wants me to find true love and my soulmate, someone who is worthy of me. She said she's not that person because she'd put me in danger. But what she doesn't realise is that she is my soulmate" Pepper answered.

"Do we say anything to her when we see her again?" Steve asked.

"I think it's best not to if she doesn't mention them" Clint told them.

"I need to talk to her, I need her to understand that she doesn't put me in anymore danger than normal. I need to tell her exactly how much she means to me" Pepper argued, visibly upset. Tony rubbed her back to try and comfort her.

"It may not be best to tell her yet. She probably needs time to deal with her own emotions" Clint added. Just then Natasha wondered into the room as if everything was normal. Everyone put their letters in their pockets as Natasha stood next to the couch that Pepper was sitting on.

"What's everyone talking about?" Natasha asked.

"I was just about to tell everyone about a new suit I've been designing" Tony answered, swapping places with Natasha. As Natasha sat next to Pepper, she put her arm around Pepper's shoulders and Pepper took that opportunity to lean in to Natasha and enjoy their closeness. Tony pressed a few buttons on a device and a holographic screen popped up with a new suit design blueprint on it. "This is the new suit. I call it Rescue. It is designed more for defence and rescuing civilians than combat. I'm designing it for Pepper to use if she wants to. I thought you could give us a hand saving civilians while we fight the bad guys. It would also come in handy if you were in danger."

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Tony." Pepper thanked.

"Yeah, thank you" Natasha thanked.

"You're welcome" Tony replied, smiling at them both.


	2. A New Dog and Skiing

**6** **th** **December**  
Natasha had gone to the local Wal-Mart to get groceries in her car. The snow was coming down steadily, so she had to use her windshield wipers and drive slowly. As she passed an alleyway, she caught sight of something moving. Then she heard a high pitched cry through her open window. Travel sickness sucked in the winter. She parked her car and got out to investigate. Natasha found a scruffy looking puppy in a cardboard box. She had no idea why it was abandoned there, but she didn't care.

Natasha scooped up the frightened puppy and took it into the car with her to warm it up. "Let's have a look at you" Natasha cooed to it. She looked it over and found no fleas, or visible injuries or other ailments, so it couldn't have been there too long. Natasha did however find out it was a female. She wrapped her up in her scarf and put her on the passenger seat. Then she continued on her way home, stopping at the vets on her way to have the puppy looked over.

When Natasha got back to Avengers Tower, she carried the puppy inside. Natasha made her way to the living room, hoping to find someone to leave the puppy with. Bruce was sitting on the sofa. "Hey, can you watch this little one while I get the shopping in?" Natasha asked.

"Sure" Bruce answered. When Natasha went to pass the puppy to Bruce, it growled at him. "I don't think it likes me."

"Could you get the shopping from the car? I don't want to just leave her on her own."

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Natasha sat of the couch with the puppy and started to stroke her as Bruce left to go to the car. A few minutes later, Pepper, Clint and Tony walked into the room.

"Did we get a dog? Bruce said something about a dog" Tony asked.

"Hey, yeah. She was abandoned in an alley and I couldn't leave her there" Natasha answered as the trio gathered round to look at the new dog.

"What breed is she?" Clint asked.

"She looks to be a Swedish Vallhund" Pepper answered.

"How do you know?"

"I've researched a lot about dogs."

"She's kind of girly isn't she" Tony commented.

"How is she girly? She looks like a wolf" Natasha argued.

"No, she looks like a Corgi."

"She looks like both, now stop arguing" Pepper ordered. Pepper reached out to stroke the puppy and to Natasha's surprise, it didn't growl. She seemed to like the attention. "Have you named her?"

"Not yet…I think I'll name her…Azula."

"We'll have to get her a bed, food, toys and everything."

"And a collar and a microchip." Bruce walked into the room, with Thor and Steve, carrying the shopping. They put the food away and joined the group to look at the new puppy.

"She's a little dirty isn't she?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, I'll have to give her a bath" Natasha answered standing up.

"I'll help you" Pepper offered, walking with Natasha.

"Thanks." They went down to Natasha's floor and into her bathroom, shutting the door behind them. Once there was a few inches of lukewarm water in the large bath, Natasha placed Azula into the bath. "What do we wash her with?"

"It'll have to be just water as we don't have dog shampoo yet. We can use the flannel towel in the draw to get the dirt off." Pepper got the flannel and handed it over. Natasha used it to wipe down the puppy. Azula was crying and clawing up the side of the bath, trying to get out.

"It's ok sweetie, we're almost done" Natasha cooed.

"Your dog is adorable" Pepper commented, when she shook water all over Natasha, after being taken out of the bath.

"Our dog" Natasha corrected, smiling a soft smile at Pepper. Pepper walked over to Natasha and kissed her on the temple.

 **7** **th** **December**  
The whole gang had gone to a ski resort for two days. Bruce and Pepper didn't want to ski, so they stayed inside the lodge with Azula, while the others were skiing on the slopes. Natasha and Clint were racing each other on the course. They finished at the same time, a draw. They shook hands as they laughed together.

"That was fun" Clint commented, as they were joined by the others.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry" Tony said. They made their way to the lodge. When they got there, they met up with Bruce and Pepper and they all had dinner together. They went to the cafeteria and lined up for the buffet. They ate while talking about Christmas and what their plans were. They eventually decided to have a Christmas party with all their friends and family. After dinner, the group got their coats and gear on again to go back out.

It was evening now, the sun had set in the sky and Pepper was worried, especially about Natasha. "Hey Nat? Can I talk to you for a second?" Pepper asked. She was standing next to the lockers, a few feet away from everyone else.

"What is it?" Natasha questioned walking over to Pepper.

"I'm worried, it's getting really dark and soon it will be really hard to see. I don't want anything to happen to you. I'm worried about the others, but you more so. Please don't tell them."

"I won't tell them, promise. But nothing's going to happen. The slopes have lights on them. I'll come back to you." Natasha pulled Pepper in for a tight hug. "I love you." Pepper pulled back to look Natasha in the eye to see if she was lying.

"I love you too." Natasha leaned in to kiss Pepper lovingly. When they parted, Natasha turned to join everyone by the entrance, but Pepper pulled her back to her and into another hug, which Natasha gladly returned. When they finally parted, Natasha left the lodge with her friends.

"Hey Nat, the last course was too easy. So I challenge you to a race on the toughest slope" Clint dared.

"You're on" Natasha accepted. She and Clint made their way to the ski lift. The others went to a different ski course. Once Natasha and Clint got to the top of the slopes, they made their way to the starting point.

"3…2…1…Go!" Clint counted down. They skied down the slope. On the way down however, there was a loud rumbling coming from behind them. They looked behind them to see an avalanche coming down the mountain fast. They sped up as much as they could, but as Clint jumped over a fallen log, he got a ski stuck and fell. He couldn't seem to get it free. "Nat! Nat help, please!" He begged his best friend.

Natasha slid over to him on her snowboard. She managed to dislodge his ski and helped him to his feet. "Go!" Natasha told him and pushed him forward. He set off down the mountain. But Natasha had to tighten the strap of her snowboard. After that she set off again down the slope. The avalanche was close now and when she got three quarters down the mountain, it buried her. Clint heard her shout as she went under, but couldn't do anything so he went back to the lodge to get help.

As soon as he entered the lodge he saw his friends. "Where's Natasha?" Pepper asked, clearly trying not to panic.

"She got buried by an avalanche. I'm so sorry Pepper. She saved me and it slowed her down. She went under" Clint answered, concern lacing his voice. Pepper burst into tears at the news and hit Clint on the chest. Tony hugged her to try and calm her down.

"I could really use that suit now Tony" Pepper told him.

"I know, but it's not ready" Tony replied, regretfully.

 **8** **th** **December**  
By the time the authorities and rescue team arrived, it was midnight. Natasha had been buried for a few hours. "Why don't you find her?" Pepper asked Tony.

"We don't have our suits or weapons" Tony answered. "We didn't think we'd need them, besides we wouldn't know how to safely get her out." The leader of the rescue team walked into the lodge followed by his team. Pepper and Tony walked over to him. "What do you plan to do to find our friend?"

"We can't do anything until daylight" The man informed them.

"What?" Pepper exclaimed.

"What are you doing here then?" Tony asked.

"We were hoping the sloped would be better lit, but we can't see what we're doing out there." The team leader answered. Pepper and Tony huffed in frustration and went to join their friends.

"What did they say?" Clint asked.

"They can't do anything until morning" Tony answered.

"Morning? She'll be dead by then!"

"I know. That's why we're going to save her." Tony called his suit to him and then called Pepper's too. It took several minutes but the suits soon flew through the open door to them. Tony and Pepper took off their thick coats as they wouldn't fit inside the suits.

"I thought my suit wasn't ready?" Pepper asked.

"Not to specifications no. It still needs tinkering. It can't fly with you inside it yet and few other things, but it'll be ok for this" Tony answered. They got into the suits and they all made their way out of the lodge and to the area they thought Natasha would be. They used the lights on the suits to see what they were doing.

Tony used his infrared scanner to find exactly where Natasha was trapped. "Is she alive?" Pepper asked.

"Yes. Weak, but alive" Tony answered. They started melting the snow with their R.T Nodes. Soon enough the snow melted enough to start digging Natasha out with their hands, they all pitched in to remove her from the snow. Pepper picked Natasha up and carried her back to the lodge.

People tried to surround them to see what had happened. "Back off!" Pepper warned. A paramedic led Pepper to a gurney they had and Pepper lay Natasha down on it. Pepper and Tony took their suits off as the paramedic checked Natasha's vitals and stabilized her as best as they could on the field.

"We need to take her to the hospital" the paramedic told the Avengers.

"No!" Pepper argued.

"Do you want her to live or not?" the woman questioned.

"She needs to go Pepper" Tony reasoned.

"Won't Bruce's lab work?"

"No, but maybe that should be on my to-do list. Add a hospital floor in the tower. But for now she'll have to go."

"Fine." Pepper turned to the paramedic. "But I'm going with her." The paramedic wheeled Natasha to the ambulance and put her in the back of it. Pepper said goodbye to her friends and got in the back too. As they travelled to the hospital, Pepper took Natasha's hand in hers and let her tears fall. The siren was blaring and they were speeding to the hospital. Pepper hoped Natasha would be alright.

Several hours later, Pepper was sitting in a chair next to Natasha's hospital bed, still hoping she would wake up. Tony, Bruce, Steve and Thor were all waiting in the waiting room, as they didn't want to crowd the room. Clint was in the chair next to Pepper, sitting silent and observant. A quiet groan came from Natasha's direction, causing Pepper to snap her head up to look at her.

Slowly Natasha's eyes blinked open and she took in her surroundings. "W-where am I?" Natasha asked, her voice weak and rough.

"You're in hospital" Pepper answered gently, helping her to sit up. Natasha was weak and only had one hand, the other was in a cast. Pepper passed Natasha a cup of water, which she gladly accepted. When she was done, Pepper put it back. "You scared me" Pepper accused, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. But like I said, I came back to you" Natasha pointed out. She weakly pulled Pepper to her and kissed her lovingly. "I'll be ok Pepper, promise." Pepper pressed a kiss to Natasha's forehead.

 **9** **th** **December**  
The Avengers were all sitting in Natasha's hospital room. They were talking about Christmas, past and present. Natasha was doing well, healing properly, but she couldn't leave the hospital yet. "We should do secret Santa!" Tony suggested.

"What's that?" Thor asked.

"Everyone writes their name on a piece of paper and put it in a hat. Then we each take a name and whoever we get, we get a gift for. On Christmas Eve, we reveal who we got when we give them the gift." Natasha explained. "But we've already got our Christmas presents for everyone." She indicated Pepper and herself.

"Yeah, so have I, but I thought it would be fun and we can get a bonus gift that's extra special or funny, or whatever" Tony replied.

"That does sound like fun" Natasha conceded. Tony got out the notepad from his pocket and a pen, wrote his name down, and then passed it to Bruce.

"Leave a line blank, so it's easier to rip without ripping a name" Tony told him. Bruce wrote his name down, then passed it to Steve, who passed it to Thor, then to Clint, then to Pepper and lastly the notepad was passed to Natasha. She wrote her name on the paper and threw the pad and pen back to Tony, smirking when it hit him on the head. "I'll let you get away with it this time Romanoff, but watch it." Tony had a playful glint in his eye.

He ripped each name from the notepad, folded the strips and placed them in his cap. Tony stirred the names, took a strip of paper, looked at it and passed the hat along. Everyone took a name and passed on the hat until everyone had a name. Tony got Bruce. Bruce got Steve. Steve got Thor. Thor got Clint. Clint got Natasha. Natasha got Pepper. Pepper got Tony. Natasha was pleased with her result; she had been hoping to get Pepper. She had the perfect idea for a gift, to express what she was feeling for the other woman.

They talked for a while longer before Tony looked at his watch. "We should go, it's getting late" he announced. The men stood up and put on their coats.

"I think I'm going to stay a bit longer" Pepper told the others. They said their goodbyes and once the others had left, Pepper pulled her laptop out of her bag. "I thought we could watch a Christmas film."

"As long as it's not one of the sappy ones" Natasha agreed.

"Do you mind if I sit on the bed?"

"I'd prefer it if you did." Pepper plugged her laptop into the wall, not caring if it was allowed or not as the socket only had a lamp plugged in and got onto the hospital bed next to Natasha. Natasha put her arm around Pepper and Pepper leaned into her side, careful not to hurt her.

As her laptop loaded, a question formed in Pepper's mind. "Why did you tell me you love me?"

"You told me your fears about me not returning and that got me thinking. What if I didn't come back? I knew it was unlikely for anything to happen, but I couldn't risk dying without telling you."

"So you didn't mean it."

"That's not what I'm saying Pepper. I have feelings for you, I do. Strong, intense feelings. It just seems too soon to be saying those words. People don't normally say them before they start dating."

"That's true, but we're not like other people. I believe there's such a thing as love at first sight."

"You do?"

"Yeah, but not between just anyone. I believe we all have a soul mate and that as soon as we first see them, we know we love that person." Pepper logged into her laptop, before looking Natasha in the eyes. "Do you love me?"

Natasha took a moment to think about it, looking into Pepper's eyes. Slowly a smile appeared on her face. "Yeah, I do. I really do. I love you more than anything." Pepper grinned.

"I love you too more than anything." They shared a deep, passionate kiss, before putting on Nightmare Before Christmas to watch.

 **10** **th** **December**  
Natasha had finally been released from hospital and sent home. But she still needed to rest and heal. Pepper made sure she stayed in bed to much complaint. "Please don't make me stay here Pepper, you know me. I hate feeling helpless." Natasha protested.

"You know what the doctor said. You need to heal" Pepper reminded.

"But that doesn't mean I have to stay in bed all day."

"Fine but no strenuous activity." Pepper kissed Natasha chastely and helped her out of bed. Natasha had a wash, as she couldn't have a shower because of her bandages and got dressed. Then she and Pepper went up to the main floor living room. Steve was sitting in an armchair, while Bruce and Tony were cuddled together on the couch. They were watching TV. When Steve saw Natasha he walked over to her.

"I was thinking about going to get Azula some presents. Want to come with?" he asked.

"Yeah, that sounds great" Natasha answered, looking at the dog lying across both Bruce and Tony's laps and smiling.

"Be careful please" Pepper requested.

"I will, promise." Natasha kissed Pepper goodbye, put the lead on Azula and left with Steve. They made their way down to the garage and got into Natasha's sports car. However Steve was the one driving. They went to the nearest pet store and had a look around at what to buy. They weren't sure what to get as Azula only had the basic essentials and there was a large range of items. "We should buy the best for our little puppy." They bought 2 ceramic blue bowls to replace the plastic ones they had, a big comfy looking bed for medium sized dogs.

"You know that dog will be big for her" Steve commented.

"Well she may want to stretch out" Natasha replied. They also bought some more natural dog food, some more puppy training pads, some more treats, tennis balls, rope toys, a big stuffed monkey, a rain coat for when it rains, a winter coat for when it gets cold, an extendable lead, a blue leather collar with a heart tag, shampoo, a dog bath, dog poop bags, a life vest for trips on deep water, a water bottle for long car rides, a seat cover to protect her car, a dog seat belt, a blue walking harness and a blue car harness.

They paid for everything and left the store to go home. On the way back, Tony texted Natasha to meet them at a photography studio with an address. Steve drove there and they met the others outside the studio. "Why are we here?" Natasha asked.

"We're going o have a group photo to send out Christmas cards" Pepper answered.

"Put these on" Clint told them, handing them a Christmas jumper each. Natasha and Steve put on the jumpers and they went inside the studio. The photographer instructed them to stand in front of a back drop that was Christmas themed. Tony, Bruce, Thor and Steve stood in the back row. Natasha, Pepper and Clint stood in the front row. Bruce and Tony put their arms around each other, as did Natasha and Pepper. Just before the photographer took the photo, as she counted 1…2…3, Pepper kissed Natasha on the cheek and Tony kissed Bruce on the cheek. The flash went off and the picture was taken.

They were able to look at it afterwards and it was approved by everyone. "We'd like this on 200 Christmas cards please" Tony requested of the photographer. They all sat down on chairs while they waited for the cards to be printed.

"That photo is embarrassing" Natasha muttered.

"I think we look cute. People will love it" Pepper replied. Natasha let out a disapproving groan and rested her head on Pepper's shoulder. "What did you get Azula?"

"A lot. There's so much stuff."

"Informative." Natasha rolled her eyes.

"What did you do while we were at the pet store?"

"Not a lot, watched TV, looked over some files. I thought about what to get for secret Santa."

"I know what I'm getting for mine."

"What?"

"I can't tell you it's a secret…go on a date with me tomorrow."

"I'd love to."


	3. Introducing Natasha to her Parents

**11** **th** **December**  
Steve, Natasha and Clint finished writing out the Christmas cards and putting stamps on the envelopes to send them. "We'll post them; you can stay here if you want" Tony told Natasha.

"Yeah, I want to see what Pepper's up to" Natasha replied, standing up. She got suddenly dizzy and had to sit back down.

"Are you ok?" Clint asked.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine!" Natasha managed to stand up without issue. She went down to Pepper's floor, to try and find her but she wasn't there. So she went up to her floor to look there. Natasha went into her bedroom to find Pepper searching through her wardrobe and Tony looking under her bed.

"Hey, Nat have you seen Tony?" Bruce asked, walking into Natasha's bedroom to see the scene in front of them.

"What are you doing?" Natasha questioned.

"Looking for the Christmas jumper you made me" Pepper lied.

"You're wearing it" Natasha informed her. "What are you really looking for?"

"The presents that you got us" Tony admitted. "We've looked on everyone's floors but no luck yet."

"Get out of my room, you can't see our presents early" Natasha demanded, annoyed. Tony scampered out of the room, closely followed by Bruce. Pepper walked over to Natasha, by the door.

"Are we still on for tonight?"

"Of course we are. I need a nap beforehand though, I'm exhausted."

"How's your arm? Feeling any pain?"

"It's ok considering and the painkillers are working."

"What about your ribs?"

"Fine." Natasha went and sat on her bed. Pepper stood by the foot of the bed.

"I'm only asking because I'm worried."

"I know. I'm ok." Pepper turned to leave. "Pepper?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you stay with me?"

"Yeah." Natasha lay down and Pepper lay with her, spooning her and wrapping her arms around her waist. They both fell asleep for an hour. When Natasha woke up, she rolled over to find Pepper watching her, smiling. "You're cute when you sleep."

Natasha pressed a firm kiss to Pepper's lips. "Shut up."

"We should get ready for our date."

"Too comfy, let's just stay here." Natasha buried her face in Pepper's chest.

"We have a reservation." Natasha sniffed her armpit and made a noise of disgust.

"I stink."

"I'll run the bath." Pepper kissed Natasha on the forehead and went to Natasha's bathroom. She ran the water for the bath, put in some bubble bath and waited for the tub to fill. Natasha joined her a few minutes later and sat next to her on the edge of the bath.

"I feel like a baby when you bathe me" Natasha admitted, looking at the floor. Pepper held Natasha's hand.

"Don't think of it as me babying you; think of it as your girlfriend pampering you, because you deserve it."

"It doesn't make me feel much better."

"Would you rather someone else do it?"

"No, I just wish I could."

"It won't be long until your cast comes off and your bandages are removed."

"Long enough." Pepper turned the tap off. Natasha stripped her clothes off, Pepper watched. "Like what you see?" Natasha teased, when she was naked. Pepper let out a shaky exhale, her eyes dark.

"Definitely." Natasha stepped into the bath and awkwardly sank into the water, careful not to get her bandages wet. She leaned back against the side and hung her arm over the side to her cast wouldn't get wet. Pepper washed Natasha's hair with shampoo and then conditioner, rubbing it into her scalp softly. Next Pepper got the scrubber, put body wash on it and massaged it over Natasha's skin.

When she had finished with the body wash, Pepper gave Natasha a back massage to help her sore muscles, being extra careful of her ribs. Pepper ran her hands down Natasha's sides, and then reached a hand down to cup her mound. "Does this feel like I'm babying you?" Pepper whispered in Natasha's ear, as she slid a finger inside her.

"No" Natasha moaned. Pepper brought Natasha to orgasm and helped her out of the bath. Natasha dried herself with a towel as Pepper left the room to go and get ready for their date. Natasha returned to her bedroom, after drying and got ready for their date too.

 **12** **th** **December**  
Pepper and Tony were in Tony's workshop. Tony was putting on a new suit he had made recently, after blowing up the other's a few years ago. Pepper was sat at Tony's computer. "Will it work?" Pepper asked, referring to the suit. Tony put on his helmet and told F.R.I.D.A.Y to power up the suit.

"I guess we'll find out" Tony answered. A few minutes later, all the lights went off in the building and every piece of technology, that required being plugged in, turned off too.

"Uh, what just happened?"

"I don't know." Tony took off his helmet.

"You caused a power outage didn't you?" Pepper shook her head at his carelessness. "How long will it last?"

"I don't know, a few hours maybe."

"It's going to get very cold, very fast." Pepper left Tony's workshop and made her way up to the main floor. There she found Natasha, Clint and Bruce bundled up in layers of clothes to keep warm. "It's cold in here." Pepper walked over to Natasha.

"Want me to come with you to get some clothes?" Natasha asked.

"No, the powers out so my door will be locked" Pepper answered. "Can I borrow some of your clothes?"

"Isn't that kind of weird?"

"No, couples borrow each other's clothes all the time."

"Tony and I wear each other's clothes sometimes" Bruce added. Natasha and Pepper went down the stairwell to Natasha's floor and into her bedroom.

Natasha sat on her bed and gestured towards her wardrobe. "Help yourself." Pepper went and looked in Natasha's wardrobe for something warm that she liked. Pepper found a thick, cosy looking jumper. She pulled it on and looked for something else.

"How come your door was open?"

"I was in here when the lights went out and kept the door open." Behind all the clothes, on the right side of the wardrobe, pepper found a bag hanging up. Out of curiosity, she looked in the bad to find two scarves. One was green with grey stripes. One was red with yellow stripes. She pulled them out of the bag and held them up for Natasha to see, a smirk on her face.

"You have Harry Potter scarves?" Natasha was clearly embarrassed by this revelation.

"Yeah but you can't tell anyone."

"I'm not sure why you wouldn't want them to know. Harry Potter is awesome; you don't need to be embarrassed." Pepper put on the Gryffindor scarf and wrapped the Slytherin scarf around Natasha's neck.

"No, I'm not wearing it." Pepper placed a passionate kiss on Natasha's lips.

"Please, it'll be cute if we wear them together."

"Fine."

"Yay! Thank you." Pepper placed another kiss on Natasha's lips, this one was more intense.

"I could live off your kisses" Natasha confessed, when they had parted.

"You're sweet."

"I know other ways to keep warm" Natasha suggested, flirtatiously. Pepper got a 'deer caught in headlights' look on her face which caused Natasha to laugh softly. "That's not what I meant, don't worry." Pepper breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm not ready for sex yet."

"I know we've only had one date. Even though you gave me an amazing orgasm the other day, I want to wait too." They shared a loving kiss.

"So what did you mean?"

"I was thinking we could share a bath."

"That sounds like a great idea, but I'd like some dinner first. Keep the scarf on."

"You look good in my clothes."

"Come on." Pepper took Natasha's hand, pulled her up off the bed and led her out of the room. They went up to the main floor and into the kitchen to have dinner together.

 **13** **th** **December**  
"Yeah, I'll be there in a few hours. Bye." Pepper said. Natasha walked up to Pepper in the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked.

"My mom just phoned. She invited me to visit."

"When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I'm ready." Pepper walked closer to Natasha and put her arms around her waist. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course. If you want me to, I will."

"Thank you." They got ready to go out; collecting their wallets etc, then went and got into Natasha's car with Azula. Pepper drove them to Rome, New York. They pulled up to her parent's house and knocked on the door. After several long minutes, Pepper's mom finally opened the door. Pepper and her mom greeted each other with a hug and they all went into the living room. Natasha and Pepper sat on the two seat sofa, Azula jumping up next to Natasha and Pepper's parents sat on the sofa opposite them.

"Who's your friend?" Pepper's dad asked.

"Mom, Dad, this is Natasha Romanoff. She's my girlfriend." Pepper introduced.

"Y-your girlfriend?" Pepper's mom asked.

"Yeah…I know I never told you I like women…are you ok with this?" Her parents were clearly shocked. They were silent, staring into space for a while. Natasha took Pepper's hand in hers to offer support.

Finally Pepper's mom looked at them both and spoke. "I'm surprised. I didn't expect this, but as long as you're happy Virginia, I'm happy for you."

"Yeah me too, so Natasha, you better not break my daughter's heart." Pepper's dad warned.

"I have no intention of that Sir. I just want to make Pepper happy." Natasha replied.

"How long have you two been together?"

"About a week; we confessed our feelings on the 5th and had our first date on the 11th. However, I've had feelings for your daughter for a few years. I really care about her."

"So this is serious?" Pepper's mom asked.

"Yes, we really want this to work out Mom" Pepper answered. Just then, there was a beeping sound from the kitchen.

"That's the chicken ready. I'll go serve the food." Pepper's dad said.

"I'll set the table." Pepper's mom said. Pepper's parents left to go to the kitchen.

"You've had feelings for me for years?" Pepper asked. Natasha nodded in confirmation. "Since when?"

"Well, when I first laid eyes on you, I thought you were stunning and incredibly sexy. But you were with Tony and I didn't know what I was feeling exactly. I didn't know whether I wanted to just sleep with you, like so many other people I liked, or whether I was feeling something genuine. So I ignored it, got on with my job, undercover at Stark Industries. After that, these thoughts and feelings wouldn't leave me. When Aldrich kidnapped you, I'd been undercover at the time, I broke cover the minute her took you and almost blew the entire operation. I got sloppy, trying to leave there and get to you. By the time I got to the city, Tony had already saved you. I was in big trouble with S.H.I.E.L.D. I was kept in the country after that. By that point I knew what I feel for you wouldn't go away, but it has gotten stronger."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling you now." Pepper kissed Natasha's temple softly.

"So that's why you were so hesitant to act on your feelings."

"I didn't want another Aldrich Killian to hurt you and I don't know what I'd do to save you, what I'm capable of."

"Whatever happens we'll get through it together." They shared a loving kiss, before joining Pepper's parents for dinner. They swapped stories over dinner and Pepper's parents told Natasha embarrassing stories of when Pepper was a child. Azula was treated to some chicken. Natasha and Pepper finally said goodbye after exchanging Christmas presents, late that night. They fell asleep together that night.

 **14** **th** **December**  
The elevator dinged signalling the arrival of her guests. Pepper greeted them all, hugging each person in turn. When she got to Natasha, they shared a sweet, chaste kiss. Everyone sat down around the long dining table. Pepper sat at the head of the table, Natasha sat on her left, Tony sat on Natasha's left, then Bruce, then Steve, Sam Wilson, Jane Foster, Darcy, Clint, Laura Barton, Maria Hill, Melinda May, Nick Fury sat opposite Pepper, Phil Coulson, Erik Selvig, James Rhodes, Lance Hunter, Thor, Mack, Fitz, Wanda Maximoff, Bobby Morse, Simmons and Sky on Pepper's right.

They all dug in to the food laid out on the table. Everyone was talking, laughing, joking and having a good time. When they had finished eating, Pepper raised her glass for a toast. "I'd like to thank you all for coming and celebrating Christmas here with us. To family."

"To family." Everyone toasted, clinking glasses together.

"Let's put some music on and move to the dance floor" Tony said, before getting up to put the music on the stereo. As people migrated to the living room, Natasha pulled Pepper to one side.

"I'm sorry Pepper, but I have to leave."

"Why?"

"I'm not feeling well. I'm going to go lie down." Natasha kissed Pepper on the cheek and left to go to her floor. Tony watched Natasha leave and walked over to Pepper.

"Where's Nat going?" Tony asked.

"Back to her floor. She said she's not feeling well, but I know she's lying." Pepper answered, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Pep, I know you wanted to spend tonight with her, and tell everyone about you two. I'm sure she has a good reason."

"I need a drink." Pepper left Tony and went over to the bar. She sat on a stool and got a drink, putting her face in her hands. Pepper had several drinks before deciding to leave the party early. Pepper went down to her floor. When the doors to the elevator opened into the living room on her floor, she saw Natasha standing in the middle of the room, two mugs of hot chocolate in her hands. A big grin crossed Pepper's face.

"I'm sorry I left early, I just wanted to spend time alone with you" Natasha apologised, as she walked over to Pepper.

"So why didn't you just tell me?" Pepper asked, taking the offered mug.

"Because I wanted to surprise you" Natasha answered. Natasha led Pepper over to the sofa that she had moved in front of the fireplace. They sat on the sofa, on opposite ends. Natasha placed Pepper's feet in her lap and took off her heels.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you a massage. You deserve it, for everything you did for me while my arm has been in the cast."Natasha massaged Pepper's feet slowly, starting with her toes and making her way down to her heel. Left foot first, and then right foot. She would pause occasionally to have a drink of her hot chocolate. When she was done with the massage, Pepper went to change out of her dress, into sweats, a t-shirt and jumper, similar to Natasha's outfit. When she returned to the living room, Natasha was lounging across the sofa, leaning against the arm.

"Where am I supposed to sit?"

"Right here." Natasha patted the space between her legs and opened her arms in invitation. Pepper sat down where indicated, leaning back against Natasha. Natasha draped the blanket over them from the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around Pepper. "It feels good to have you in my arms."

"I like being in your arms, I feel…safe. But are you sure I'm not hurting you?"

"I'm fine; my ribs aren't too bad now." Pepper turned so they could share a loving kiss. "I'm glad you feel safe." Natasha mumbled when they parted, before initiating a second kiss.

 **15** **th** **December**  
8am Natasha Romanoff woke up, got dressed and left her bedroom. As she left she noticed mistletoe in her doorway. She went to the elevator to go up to the main floor. When it arrived, Pepper was already in it and she joined her. Stuck to the ceiling of the elevator was more mistletoe. Both Natasha and Pepper noticed it at the same time, before making eye contact. Natasha leaned in for a kiss, which quickly became passionate as Pepper pushed her against the wall. "Good morning to you too" Natasha panted, causing them to both laugh breathlessly.

10am Natasha was in the main floor living room watching TV, when she noticed Tony and Bruce standing under the mistletoe above the balcony door. "You two need to kiss, it's the rules." Natasha told them, pointing out the plant. Tony and Bruce looked at the mistletoe, then back at each other. Bruce pushed Tony against the second door that was closed and kissed him passionately. Natasha smirked at them, before giving them some privacy.

12pm Natasha went down to the gym to do her afternoon workout. On her way into the room, she bumped into Clint who was leaving. There was a sprig of mistletoe above the door. "Did you put the mistletoe everywhere?" Natasha accused.

"All in the spirit of Christmas" Clint confessed. Natasha rolled her eyes at him, before placing a quick peck of a kiss on his lips.

"Take them down tonight" Natasha warned him before going inside the gym.

2pm Natasha went to the sauna after her workout to let off steam. Outside the door, she met Pepper, who she had invited to join her. There was more mistletoe above the door, so they shared a long loving kiss, before going inside the sauna. They sat next to each other on the bench. "Did you know it was Clint who put the mistletoe everywhere?" Natasha asked.

"So he's the culprit. At least it works out well for us and Tony and Bruce" Pepper answered.

"Yeah, but earlier, I had to kiss Clint." Natasha made a disgusted face, causing Pepper to laugh.

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"I guess it wasn't nor did it last long. But he's my best friend, so it was weird. I'd rather kiss you."

"Good." They shared another long, steamy kiss.

"I missed you."

"We saw each other 4 hours ago."

"I know."

"I missed you too." They shared another kiss. Natasha lay down along the bench and pulled Pepper down on top of her, with her good hand, not breaking the kiss. Natasha ran her hand up Pepper's leg and under the towel to rest on her ass. Natasha ran her tongue over Pepper's lip and into her mouth, when allowed. She explored Pepper's mouth with her tongue, before grinding it against Pepper's tongue. They both moaned at the friction in their mouths.

By the end of the day, everyone living in Avenger Tower had kissed each other. Natasha went all over the building with Clint to make sure he took them all down. Once they had collected them, Natasha burned them to make sure her couldn't do it again. One day was enough.

When it was time for bed, Natasha joined Pepper in her bed and they fell asleep in each other's arms. Pepper rested her head on Natasha's chest and draped a leg across both of hers. They soon fell asleep, dreaming wonderful things.


	4. Christmas Songs and Dates

**16** **th** **December**  
Natasha and Bruce had spent most of the day buying ingredients and making eggnog. They made a lot of it and kept it in the fridge. They had added rum to it to make it alcoholic. That night Natasha, having drunk enough eggnog to be drunk throughout the day, she found Pepper and Tony on the main floor balcony and led her to the couch in the living room. Tony followed them and sat next to Pepper, intrigued by Natasha's drunken rambling.

"Sit here, I will be back" Natasha slurred. Natasha went down to her floor and got her phone's speaker. She went back up to the main floor, attached the speaker to her phone and played a song. Steve, Bruce, Thor and Clint had migrated to the living room too. When the singing started, Natasha sang along.

 _I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There's just one thong I need _Natasha frowned at her mistake.  
 _I don't car about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas three  
I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come through _Natasha stomped her foot in frustration.  
 _All I want for Christmas  
Is you_

Pepper watched Natasha's antics and couldn't help but smile. She laughed every time Natasha got angry at saying the wrong word.

 _I don't want a lot for Christmas  
There is just one thong I need  
I don't car about the presents  
Underneath the Christmas three_ Natasha stomped her foot again.  
 _I don't need to hand my stockings  
There upon the fireplace  
Santa Clause won't make me happy  
With a thoy on Christmas day  
I just want you for my own  
More than you could ever know  
Make my wish come through_ Natasha crossed her arms over her chest, frowning.  
 _All I want for Christmas  
Is you_

Natasha kicked the coffee table. Pepper stood up and walked over to Natasha and placed her hands on her shoulders, to make sure Natasha was listening. "Thank you for the song, it was sweet."

"But I messed up." Natasha pouted.

"It doesn't matter." Pepper kissed her on the forehead. "Why don't we watch a movie?"

"We're going to go" Tony told Pepper as the guys all got up and left. Pepper sat Natasha down on the couch and put a blu ray into the ps4. She turned on the TV and put it on the right channel. Pepper sat next to Natasha and draped a blanket over their laps. Natasha lifted Pepper's arm and snuggled into Pepper's side, placing her head on her chest. Pepper wrapped her arm around Natasha and kissed the crown of her head.

"What are we watching?" Natasha asked.

"Into the Woods" Pepper answered, pressing play on the menu.

"I love this film."

"I know." 15 minutes into the film, Natasha fell asleep. Once Pepper had realised Natasha was sleeping, she turned everything off and picked her girlfriend up off the couch. Pepper carried Natasha, bridal style, down to Natasha's floor and put her into her bed. Pepper went to leave, but Natasha grabbed her shirt and sleepily mumbled, "Stay". Pepper got into Natasha's bed and they both fell asleep.

 **17** **th** **December**  
"Why did you get drunk last night?" Pepper asked. She and Natasha were sitting in Natasha's bed, reading.

"I…um…wanted to sing to you as a romantic gesture. But I was really nervous, so I had some eggnog to take the edge off. I guess I had too much and got drunker than I intended." Natasha answered. They were quiet for a few minutes.

"You're Russian right?" Pepper was obviously nervous about asking. Natasha chuckled softly.

"I was until I joined S.H.I.E.L.D." Pepper kept her eyes on her book.

"So you know Russian?" This made Natasha intrigued. She put her tablet down and faced Pepper.

"Yeah why?"

"W-would you tech me some Christmas songs in Russian?"

"Why?"

"I just…thought it could be something we can do together."

"Which song?"

"How about Mistletoe and Wine? It's my favourite."

"Ok, well this is it in Russian."

 _Rebenok yavlyayetsya korol', Carollers pet'  
Drevneye proshlo, yest' novoye nachalo.  
Mechty o Santa, mechty snega,  
Pal'tsy nemeyut, stalkivayestsya svetilas'._

 _Rozhdestvo, Omela i Vino  
Deti_ _poyut_ _khistianskuyu_ _rifmu  
S breven na ogon' i podarkov na derive  
Vremya redovat'sya blago, chto my vidim,_

 _Vremya dlya zhizni, vremya za veru  
Vremya dlya doveryaya, ne obmanyvaya,  
Lyubov' i smekh i radost' tekh por,  
Nashi dlya vzyatiya, prosto sleduyte masteru._

 _Rozhdestvo, Omela i Vino  
Deti poyut khistianskuyu rifmu  
S breven na ogon' i podarkov na derive  
Vremya redovat'sya blago, chto my vidim,_

 _Tikhaya noch', svyataya noch'  
Vremya dlya davat', vramya dlya polucheniya,  
Vremya dlya proshchat' i zabyvat'.  
Rozhdestvo lyubvi, Rozhdestvo eto mir,_

 _Vremya nenavident' i borot'sya, chtoby prekratit'.  
Rozhdestvo, Omela i Vino  
Deti poyut khistianskuyu rifmu  
S breven na ogon' i podarkov na derive  
Vremya redovat'sya blago, chto my vidim,_

 _Rozhdestvo, Omela i Vino  
Deti poyut khistianskuyu rifmu  
S breven na ogon' i podarkov na derive  
Vremya redovat'sya blago, chto my vidim,_

Natasha went through every verse, every line and taught Pepper how to say the words properly. When Pepper could do that, they strung it all together to the correct tune. It took a few hours but Pepper managed to learn the whole song. She couldn't sing it as well as Natasha, and still got stuck on a few words, but she was willing to practise.

"We should get out of bed, it's getting late" Pepper said, when she noticed the time. They shared a gentle kiss and got out of bed. When they were dressed, Pepper visited Natasha on her floor. "Do you want to go out somewhere?" Natasha walked over to her and took Pepper's hand in hers. Natasha led Pepper to the living room and gestured for her to start first.

 _ **I really can't stay**  
But, baby, its cold outside  
 **I've got to go away**  
But, baby, its cold outside  
 **This evening has been**  
Been hoping that you'd drop in  
 **So very nice**  
I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice  
 **My mother will start to worry**  
Beautiful, what's your hurry?  
 **My father will be pacing the floor**  
Listen to the fireplace roar  
 **So really I'd better scurry**  
Beautiful, please don't hurry  
 **But maybe just a half a drink more**  
Put some records on while I pour_

Natasha and Pepper danced around the living room as they sang.

 _ **The neighbours might think**  
Baby, it's bad out there  
 **Say what's in this drink?**  
No cabs to be had out there  
 **I wish I knew how**  
Your eyes are like starlight now  
 **To break the spell**  
I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell  
 **I ought to say no no no, sir**  
Mind if I move in closer?  
 **At least I'm gonna say that I tried**  
What's the sense in hurting my pride?  
 **I really can't stay**  
Baby, don't hold out  
 **Oh, but its cold outside**_ Natasha harmonized with Pepper.

 _ **I simply must go**  
But, baby its cold outside  
 **The answer is no**  
But, baby its cold outside  
 **This welcome has been**  
How lucky that you dropped in  
 **So nice and warm**  
Look out the window at that storm_ Natasha pointed out the window and the snow falling down.  
 _ **My sister will be suspicious**  
Gosh your lips look delicious  
 **My brother will be there at the door**  
Waves upon a tropical shore  
 **My maiden aunt's mind is vicious**  
Ooh your lips are delicious  
 **But maybe just a cigarette more**  
Never such a blizzard before_

 _ **I've got to get home**  
But, baby you'll freeze out there  
 **Say, lend me a coat?**  
It's to your knees out there  
 **You've really been grand**  
I thrill when you touch my hand  
 **But don't you see**  
How can you do this thing to me?  
 **There's bound to be talk tomorrow**  
Think of my life-long sorrow  
 **At least there will be plenty implied**  
If you got pneumonia and died  
 **I really can't stay**  
Get over that hold out  
 **Oh, baby, but it's cold outside**_ They harmonized again on the last line.

When they finished singing they collapsed on Natasha's couch, laughing together.

 **18** **th** **December**  
atasha had asked Pepper on a second date that morning. It was 4pm and Natasha was getting ready for their date. She made sure the tickets were safe in her wallet before jumping in the shower to get ready. Once she was out of the shower, Natasha dried and went over to her wardrobe to look for clothes. She decided to wear her black lacy underwear, black slim fit jeans, white tank top, white shirt, grey-black formal waistcoat, black socks and black leather boots.

Natasha then dried her hair, curled it and applied hairspray to keep it in place. She put on lip gloss and eye shadow. When she was ready, Natasha put on her winter coat, grabbed her wallet and made her way down to the garage. When Natasha saw Pepper, her breath caught in her throat at how beautiful Pepper looked. Pepper was wearing a black halter neck dress with 4 inch black heels, with her winter coat open on top.

They got into the car, Pepper in the driver's seat, and they shared a chaste kiss. Pepper drove them both to the theatre. They got out of the car and went inside the theatre. "Do you want a drink and snack?" Natasha asked.

"Are we going to have a meal afterwards?" Pepper asked, while walking with Natasha towards the food stand.

"Yeah, I have a reservation at a restaurant."

"I'll just have a drink." They ordered a drink each and entered the auditorium, showing their tickets on the way in. They found their seats in the middle of the first row, to watch the Christmas pantomime Aladdin. The play was good and funny. After the play, Natasha drove them to a small romantic restaurant. They were seated at a table next to a window. "Do you know what the food is like here?"

"It's really good from what I've experienced." They had a look at the Menus to see what they wanted. Once they had ordered their meals, they got to talking. "What did you think of Aladdin?" Natasha asked.

"I really enjoyed it. It was funny, especially the part where the actor lost his trousers" Pepper answered, smiling at the memory.

"I'm not sure whether that was intentional."

"It probably wasn't."

"Virginia, I need to ask you something…It's kind of awkward for me because I've never done this before." Pepper took Natasha's hand in hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"You can ask me anything."

"I know you introduced me as your girlfriend to your parents, but we've never talked about it. Do you want to be in an exclusive relationship with me?" Natasha stared at their joined hands, scared of what Pepper would say.

"Natasha, you are an amazing, strong woman. You are insanely beautiful, you have the ability to make my heart race…I wouldn't even think about being with someone other than you. I care deeply about you and I only want to be with you."  
"I only want to be with you. Will you officially be my girlfriend?"

"Yeah." They shared a sweet kiss across the table. Just then the waiter came back with their food. Natasha and Pepper dug in. There was a comfortable silence between them. When they had finished their meals, they ordered chocolate cake to share. After their desert, the waiter returned with the check. Natasha got out enough money to pay for everything and leave a 40% tip. They put their coats back on and went back to Natasha's car.

Pepper drove them home and parked in the garage. "Thanks for tonight Nat."

"No problem Pepper." Natasha leaned forward and kissed Pepper. The kiss quickly became passionate and Pepper ended up in Natasha's lap.

 **19** **th** **December**  
Natasha finally got home after a long day out looking for a secret Santa gift. She went into her bedroom, slumped over from exhaustion and locked her door. While she was still facing her door, something landed on her head covering her eyes. She guessed it was a Santa hat as it had a white fur trim. When she shifted it back on her head, so she could see and turned around, she saw Pepper standing in the middle of her room. Pepper was wearing a short red dress with white fur trimming and a Santa hat.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asked. Instead of answering Pepper put on the song Santa Baby. As the music began Pepper led Natasha over to the bed and sat her down on it. Pepper danced the whole Pussy Cat Dolls routine. She looked incredibly sexy as she danced and Natasha couldn't take her eyes off of Pepper, even if she wanted to. As the song was ending, Pepper knelt on the bed, straddling Natasha's lap. When the song had ended Pepper kissed Natasha passionately. "You are so sexy." Natasha breathed between kisses.

"Shut up and kiss me" Pepper ordered. Their lips reconnected and tongues met. They both moaned at the contact. They moved backwards to the head of the bed and lay down, Pepper on top of Natasha. Natasha removed Pepper's dress in one swift movement, revealing red lacy underwear and bra. Pepper stripped Natasha of her t-shirt and jeans.

"Are you sure about this?"

"God yes." Natasha removed Pepper's bra and chucked it on the floor to join the rest of their clothes. She kissed her way down Pepper's neck and made a hickey on her skin. Before she could go any lower, Pepper removed Natasha's black bra. Pepper cupped Natasha's boobs in her hands, rolling the nipples between her fingers. Natasha moaned at the feeling, pressing her chest more firmly into Pepper's hands. A pinch to her right nipple caused Natasha to growl into Pepper's ear. Natasha flipped them over so she was on top of her girlfriend. Natasha trailed kisses down Pepper's chest to her right boob. She took the hard nipple into her mouth and flicked her tongue over it. With her right hand she played with the other nipple. Pepper clawed at her back, making Natasha moan, trying to bring their bodies closer together. "More."

Natasha trailed kisses down Pepper's stomach, to her underwear. She looked up at Pepper for confirmation, before proceeding to take them off at Pepper's nod of approval. Natasha kissed along Pepper's thigh up to the apex of her thighs. She ran her tongue over Pepper's folds, before pushing inside to find her clit. She used her fingers to open Pepper up to her. Natasha flicked her tongue over Pepper's clit again before retreating to explore all of her. She teased her opening a few times before going back up to suck on Pepper's clit.

Pepper gripped Natasha's hair tight, bucking her hips. "More!" Pepper was moaning loudly. Natasha entered Pepper with a finger, pumping a few times, before adding a second finger. "Harder!" Natasha picked up her pace inside Pepper, pushing inside her harder and flicked her tongue more firmly and more rapidly over Pepper's clit. When Natasha hit a rough spot inside Pepper, Pepper cried out loudly. Natasha added a third finger and made sure to hit that spot on every stroke. A few seconds later, Pepper came screaming Natasha's name. Natasha brought her down from her climax, before crawling up Pepper's body to plant an open mouthed kiss on her lips.

Natasha cleaned Pepper's juices off her fingers. They shared a passionate kiss as Pepper flipped them over. Natasha was so wet from making Pepper cum, it didn't take long for her to reach her own climax, moaning Pepper's name loudly as she came. They shared a languid kiss, before tangling their limbs together and falling asleep with smiles on their faces.

 **20** **th** **December**  
Natasha, Pepper, Tony and Bruce got into Natasha's BMW i8 and Pepper drove them to the ice rink, as Natasha still had a brace on her left arm. They went inside the building and got tickets for the day. Natasha led them to the skate rental so Pepper and Tony could rent skates. Natasha and Bruce had their own skates. Natasha had Ultrasport, black and purple skates. Bruce had Ultrasport, black and gold skates.

Once Pepper and Tony had got their skates, they all sat down on the nearby benches to put them on. "Nat, can you make sure my skates are tight enough, please?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, give me a minute." Natasha finished doing up her skates, and then checked Pepper's skates to make sure they were tight enough to skate without wobbling but not tight enough to hurt. "You ok?"

"Yeah, my skates feel fine but I'm nervous."

"You'll be ok. I'll help you." Natasha pressed a chaste kiss to Pepper's lips. They all moved to the edge of the ice rink. Bruce helped Tony onto the ice first and they moved away from the gate. Natasha stepped onto the ice and turned back to Pepper. She took Pepper's hands and led her onto the ice. "Hold onto the side here and watch what I do. Watch my feet." Pepper held onto the side of the rink. Natasha skated across the width of the rink and back. "You can rollerblade right?"

"Yeah."

"To balance it's just like with them. Then once you have your balance you push one foot forward with the opposite leg, putting your weight on your front leg and do the same with the other. So push your right leg forward with your left, weight on her right leg, then left with your right, weight on your left leg." Natasha demonstrated again for Pepper. "To stop, the easiest way is to point your toes slightly inwards and push your heels out." Again Natasha demonstrated for her.

"Ok, I think I've got it."

"Practise near to the side in case you need to hold on again. Pepper did as was instructed, slowly going around the rink, stopping when she needed to and managing to not fall over. Natasha followed her on her left side to make sure she was ok. Once she had got the hang of it, Natasha held her hands as they skated further away from the edge. Natasha skated backwards as she led Pepper around the rink. As they skated around the rink Pepper fell over and pulled Natasha with her. When they made eye contact they burst out laughing.

When it was dinner time, Natasha and Pepper met up with Tony and Bruce at the in-house café. They took their skates off and swapped them for their trainers at the lockers. They went and got into the line at the café. They all ordered a meal and a drink. They sat down at a table. "This was fun, I've always wanted to learn how to ice skate" Tony said.

"Yeah it was" Pepper agreed.

"It was fun, but I really want to skate without stopping every five minutes. No offence Pepper" Natasha said.

"None taken."

"We could have a race" Bruce suggested. Natasha's eyes lit up.

"I'm so going to win!" They finished eating in a comfortable silence. When they had finished eating, they threw away their rubbish and went over to their lockers again. Natasha and Bruce put on their skates and went back on the ice. Tony and Pepper returned their skates to the rental place.

"We'll do three laps around the rink first one back to this gate wins" Bruce said.

"Want to make this interesting?" Natasha challenged.

"What do you have in mind?"

"The winner receives $100 from the loser."

"Deal."

When Pepper and Tony sat down on a bench near to them, Natasha asked, "Will you both be the judges?"

"Yeah." "Ok." Pepper and Tony agreed. Bruce and Pepper got to their starting positions.

"Five…four…three…two…one…GO!" Pepper counted down. As soon as Pepper said go, Natasha and Bruce pushed off. They made their way around the rink, Bruce ahead of Natasha. He was in the lead by two feet for laps one and two. However at the beginning of lap three, Natasha pushed herself to go faster. She passed Bruce easily and won the race by three feet. Pepper started cheering Natasha's victory. Natasha got off the ice and hugged Pepper tightly. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks." They shared a loving kiss. "Pay up" Natasha told Bruce, when she noticed him with them.

"Congratulations Nat" Bruce said and handed over the money.


	5. SHIELD Mission and Christmas Day

**21** **st** **December**  
The Avengers were all sitting in the main floor living room. Natasha, Tony and Bruce sat on one couch, with Pepper on Natasha's lap. Steve, Clint and Thor sat on the other couch. The dog lay on the couch next to Thor. There was a pitcher of eggnog on the coffee table between the two couches. They had all agreed to play truth or dare. If they refused the dare or refused to answer they'd have to take a drink. Steve chose the first person as he suggested playing the game.

"Nat, Truth or Dare?" Steve asked.

"Dare." Natasha answered.

"I dare you to make out with Pepper for at least two minutes." Steve dared.

"What?" Natasha questioned, indignant.

"Don't you want to kiss me?" Pepper asked. She was sitting sideways on Natasha's lap, looking her in the eyes.

"They'd enjoy watching us!"

"We'll enjoy it more." Pepper brought her hand up to trail her fingers down the side of Natasha's face, as she spoke.

Natasha closed the small space between them and kissed Pepper. Pepper ran her tongue over her lip, encouraging Natasha to drop her guard. Natasha allowed Pepper entrance, their tongues meeting instantly. Natasha ran her tongue over every inch of Pepper's mouth, before tangling her tongue with Pepper's again, making Pepper moan. The kiss lasted longer than two minutes; they didn't separate until they had run out of air.

They went around clockwise each of them doing a truth or a dare. When it got back to being Natasha's turn she said, "Dare."

"I dare you to go to the mall tomorrow, sit on Santa's lap and ask for something for Christmas." Steve dared.

"Fine." Natasha accepted.

"We'll go with you to make sure you do it." Thor told her.

As the game went on, more dares and truths were accepted and yet enough were declined to make almost everyone drunk. "Natasha truth or dare?" Tony asked.

"Truth."

"Out of everyone you have known, who do you love the most?"

"I love Pepper the most." The game continued until People started to fall asleep.

"I think it's time for bed" Thor told everyone. He was the only one who wasn't drunk as he was used to stronger Azgardian alcohol. He made sure everyone got to the floors alright before going to his. Natasha and Pepper both went to Natasha's floor, heading straight to her bedroom. They tripped over and bumped into furniture on their way but made it without serious injury. They were too tired and drunk to change into pyjamas so they climbed into bed and fell asleep.

Three hours later, Natasha woke up to a searing headache. She got some tablets from the cupboard in her bathroom, two for her and two for Pepper. She got two glasses of water from the kitchen. Natasha headed to her bedroom as she took hers and had some water. When she got to the bedroom, she put Pepper's glass and tablet on the bedside table and changed into her pyjamas. Natasha found some of Pepper's pyjamas that had been left there and put them on the bed. She gently shook Pepper awake, helped her into her pyjamas and take her tablets. They both got back into bed and lay down; Pepper curled up against Natasha's side.

"Thanks for taking care of me Nat."

"Any time. Now get some sleep." They soon fell asleep again, this time in each other's arms.

 **22** **nd** **December**  
Natasha, Tony, Bruce, Steve, Clint and Thor entered the mall to do Natasha's dare. She had to sit on the lap of the mall Santa and ask for something for Christmas. They made their way to the Santa's Village. When they got there, there was a long line of children with their parents. Natasha queued up with her friends off to the side, but near enough to talk to. Unfortunately Pepper couldn't be there with her. That morning Pepper had told her she had to go to work as there was some sort of crisis. There were about ten kids in front of Natasha and each one seemed to take five minutes to talk to Santa.

Eventually Natasha got to the front of the queue and could see Santa's face more clearly. There was something about his eyes that seemed familiar to Natasha, but she shook it off, dismissing the thoughts before they could fully form. Finally it was Natasha's turn. Tony got his phone out to record it. Natasha walked up to Santa.

"I was dared to do this" Natasha grumbled to Santa, then sat on his lap. Santa was wide eyed and stiff, as if he was nervous. "Santa?"

"Oh, yes. What would you like for Christmas?" Santa asked in a deep gravelly voice.

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about what to say."

"Well, why don't you think about it? Remember I'm Santa and Santa is magical. I can get you anything you want."

Natasha thought about it for a few minutes while observing Santa. "You seem very nervous Santa. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, e-everything is fine." Santa was now red in the face and sweaty. Natasha stared at Santa's eyes and then realisation hit her. Pepper was Santa.

"What I want for Christmas is for _'Santa'_ to kiss me right here, right now." Natasha raised her eyebrow at Pepper, a challenge in her eyes. Pepper gulped audibly.

"I don't know who you think I am, but Santa doesn't go around kissing random women."

"I'm not a random woman though am I _'Santa'_. I know what your moans of _pleasure_ sound like. I know how it feels to have my fingers buried _deep_ inside you. I know what you _taste_ like and I know how you _scream_ my name when I make you orgasm." Natasha breathed into Pepper's ear.

"You are so cruel" Pepper shuddered. Natasha flashed Pepper a wolfish grin, before kissing her heatedly.

"What I want for Christmas _'Santa'_ is for my girlfriend to have the best Christmas ever." Natasha said at normal volume, when they parted.

"I'll try my best to make that happen for you ma'am." Natasha winked at Pepper and got off her lap. She took the candy cane offered to her by the helper elf and sucked it into her mouth, while looking at Pepper. She saw Pepper gulp again and grinned.

"Thank you Santa." Natasha walked off back to her friends and was shown the video by Tony. Thankfully you couldn't hear what she had whispered in Pepper's ear, but you could hear the rest. It would make for a great memory. The Avengers went to the nearby McDonalds for dinner and went back to the Avenger Tower.

That night when Pepper got home from her day of volunteering, Natasha was waiting for her in Pepper's bed. She was underneath the covers, but it was obvious that Natasha wasn't wearing any clothes. As soon as Pepper opened the door to her bedroom, she stopped in her tracks to take in the erotic sight. "This is unexpected."

"I couldn't help myself. I've been thinking about you all day. I want to know why you were Santa and why you didn't tell me…" Natasha threw the quilt off of herself. "…but right now I want to hear you scream my name."

 **23** **rd** **December**  
Two days before Christmas and Fury called in everyone for a job. Pepper insisted on going with the Avengers in her new suit, despite Natasha's protests. She hadn't yet officially joined the team but that didn't matter to her. When they got to the air ship, they all went to medical to have a check up before the mission started. Natasha had her cast removed as her arm was now healed. They all were briefed in the cockpit by Fury about a Hydra base that had been causing a lot of trouble. Fury had gotten reports that Hydra had now found an alien artefact of unknown origin. He didn't know what the artefact did exactly, but he knew it was exceedingly dangerous and civilian lives were at risk.

They travelled to Russia, where the Hydra base was located, on the airship. While they were travelling the Avengers went over the intel on the base. What kind of security it had. How many and the location of the entrance points. How many Hydra agents there were. Where in the base the artefact was stored.

Natasha and Pepper were in their bunk. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah. I do. I want to keep as many civilians safe as possible. You guys need to focus on the enemy, I can handle it" Pepper answered.

"This isn't mad scientist Aldrich Killian. This is crazy agents Hydra. They're strong, skilled and believe what they're doing is right. They're deadly Pepper and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I have my suit and I'll be out of the war zone. I'll be careful." Natasha had tears in her eyes when she looked back at Pepper.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Pepper leaned in to kiss Natasha lovingly. The kiss lasted several long moments and when they finally parted for air, they rested their foreheads together to keep the sense of closeness. Just then there was a knock on the door, right before it opened.

"It's time" Steve told them. Natasha and Pepper made their way to the locker room to get suited up. They shared one last kiss before Natasha put on her black suit and Pepper put on her Rescue suit. They joined the others in the jet and the plane took off.

"How far away are we?" Natasha asked.

"Roughly twenty minutes" Tony answered, who was piloting the jet. For those twenty minutes everyone was quiet. Natasha and Pepper sat next to each other holding hands. When they were almost at the landing zone, a gun started firing at them. Tony swerved around the blasts, but the final blast hit the left thruster and the jet started crashing. Everyone jumped ship. Thor flew out using his hammer and started fighting the enemies below them. Bruce hulked out and jumped, landing on top of the tank that had been firing at them, with Steve on his back. Tony and Pepper flew out together, Tony carrying Clint and Pepper carrying Natasha.

They landed and immediately started fighting for their lives. The ambush was unexpected and unwelcome. They heard the plane explode in the distance. "Pepper get out of here!" Natasha begged as she took down two enemies at once.

"It looks like you need my help. Besides, I don't see any civilians around." Pepper blasted one enemy and roundhouse kicked another in the head, causing him to hit a tree and crumple to the floor. No matter how many enemies they all took down, more and more replaced them. The wave of enemies seemed endless. Hulk let out a roar off in the distance and Pepper flew off to help him out.

"PEPPER!" Natasha yelled after her, before being pulled into another fight with five agents. When she had taken them out, Natasha ran through the trees, fighting any enemies she came across, in the direction Pepper had flown. It took her a while to get there since she had to fight a lot of enemies, but she made it to Pepper's side again. They were fighting forty agents alongside Hulk and dodging shots from the nearby bunker.

Natasha was fighting six agents at once when there was a loud bang from the bunker's gun and Pepper screamed. Natasha took out the Hydra agents she was fighting and went to kneel beside Pepper. Luckily Tony, Steve, Clint and Thor showed up to help the fight. Pepper took her face plate off so she could see Natasha properly. She had been shot through the stomach. Somehow it had gone through her suit. There was blood gushing out of her wound and Natasha covered it with her hands, trying to stop the flow of blood.

"Stay with me Pepper please!" Natasha had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm not going to make it."

"No! Pepper hold on. I need you." Pepper was struggling to keep her eyes open. She weakly moved her arm to cup Natasha's cheek in her hand.

"I'm sorry Nat…I love you." Natasha leaned down to press a soft kiss to Pepper's lips.

"I love you too Pepper." A few seconds later Pepper stopped breathing. Natasha let out a wail of anguish, long and loud not caring about anything else for the moment. She cradled Pepper in her lap until Tony made her look at him.

"I know your grieving, but I need you to focus on the mission. I've called for an evac team to get Pepper, they should be here soon. We need to finish the mission." Natasha wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded her head.

"I'm going to kill every last Hydra agent here for what they did to Pepper."

"I'll stay here and wait for the extraction team. I'll make sure nothing happens to Pepper" Clint promised. Natasha got to her feet, reloaded her guns and went with Tony, Steve, Hulk and Thor to the main base. As they left Pepper and Clint, Natasha heard the evac team approaching. There were no more enemies on the way to the base but the agents guarding it were on high alert.

"Here's the plan. Tony and Thor take the left side. I'll take the right side with Hulk. Be as quiet as possible, so we don't alert the agents inside. We don't want them to move the artefact. Natasha, you sneak passed the guards, get up to the roof and grab the artefact." The two teams headed off to their side of the building and distracted the guards by fighting them. Natasha went behind the guards and shot her grappling hook at the roof of the building and she was pulled to the top in seconds. She could hear the others fighting below.

Natasha went inside the base through an open skylight window. She kept to the shadows, assassinating all enemies she came across and went through every room to where the artefact was supposed to be located. She found the hidden switch in the wall and it opened, revealing the alien artefact. Natasha grabbed the artefact and made her way out of the Hydra base and went with her team to the extraction zone. The jet got there a few minutes later. The pilot flew them all back to the airship. When they got back Natasha went straight to the cockpit and captured Fury.

 **24** **th** **December**  
Natasha had her arm around Nick Fury's neck ready to snap it if anyone shot at her. Every agent in the room had their gun trained on her. The Avengers walked into the room and stopped when they saw the scene in front of them.

"What are you doing Romanoff?" Fury asked, through the tight grip around his neck.

"Nothing. So long as you co-operate." Natasha answered.

"What do you want?" Maria Hill questioned.

"I want you to bring Pepper back."

"She's not dead. Not yet at least. She's in surgery right now." Maria told her. Natasha got a look of shock on her face for a moment before slumping to the floor, crying her eyes out in relief.

"I'm sorry Nick; I thought I'd lost her."

"It's ok Natasha, no harm done." All the S.H.I.E.L.D agents holstered their guns and returned to work. Clint helped Natasha to her feet and Fury led them to the medical bay, where Pepper was being operated on. Natasha's friends followed behind her and Clint. They watched from outside the door, while the surgeon worked. Natasha buried her face in Clint's chest, not able to watch and Clint wrapped his arms around her.

When the surgeon finally left the room, she turned to Natasha to give her the news. Natasha pulled away from Clint, anticipating the results. "Virginia is alive and the operation was a success. She is still unconscious and may be for several hours, but she should make a full recovery." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you doctor. Thank you." Natasha shook the doctor's hand and then hugged Clint tightly. Her friends all joined in on the hug and Thor wrapped his arms around them all, squeezing them tightly. Natasha went with them as the doctors wheeled Pepper to the recovery room. When Pepper had been placed in the room and the doctor's had left, Natasha sat on the chair next to Pepper and held her hand. She started crying again, but this time in relief and happiness that Pepper was alive.

Six hours later Pepper woke up. "Hey, you with me?" Natasha asked. Pepper groaned and covered her eyes with her arm.

"Yeah" Pepper croaked. Natasha took her hand in hers.

"I'm really glad you're awake." Natasha squeezed Pepper's hand gently.

"Me too."

"I'll go get you some water." Natasha left the room and went out into the hall way. She went to the cafeteria and got a bottle of water for Pepper. A few minutes later she returned to Pepper's room. Natasha handed Pepper the water and sat back down to wait for Pepper to finish her drink.

"Where am I?" Pepper put the bottle on the bed side table.

"You're in the medical bay. Don't you remember what happened?" Natasha took Pepper's hand again, concerned.

"I don't remember…anything." Pepper looked at Natasha properly for the first time since waking up. "You're dressed weird for a doctor."

"I'm not a doctor."

"Who are you?" Pepper looked at her, with a furrowed brow, no recognition in her eyes. Natasha couldn't help but feel hurt.

"I-I'll be right be with the doctor." Natasha left the room in a hurry and went to get the doctor. "Pepper can't remember anything. She thought I was a doctor." She told him as they walked to Pepper's room.

"I'll give her a check up but it's probably nothing." The doctor replied. They entered Pepper's room and the doctor checked Pepper's vitals. "As I thought it appears to be Psychogenic Amnesia. A stressful or traumatic event causes someone to block out the memory, leaving them unable to remember important information." The doctor wrote on Pepper's chart and left the room.

"Hey, I'm Natasha Romanoff." Natasha held her hand out to Pepper, who was sitting up in bed.

"Hey." Pepper shook Natasha's hand, but didn't let it go. "Who am I?"

"You're Pepper Potts. Birth name Virginia."

"How do we know each other?"

"I'm your girlfriend." Natasha sat on the edge of the bed, a warm smile gracing her lips. Pepper looked Natasha up and down, obviously appreciating the view.

"Damn, I hit the jackpot." Natasha let out a full, loud laugh. Pepper smiled at Natasha, enjoying the sound of her laughing.

"I think I'm the lucky one." Pepper took Natasha's hand in hers.

"How long have we been together?"

"Less than a month, but it's been an intense month."

"Who asked who?"

"You asked me, but I didn't say yes straight away." Pepper looked away from Natasha, saddened by the news. "Hey, it's not what you think. I was worried for your safety." Pepper snapped her head up to look at Natasha, confused.

"Are you a police officer or something?"

"I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. It's complicated. I was worried a bad guy would hurt you to get to me." Natasha spent the rest of the day telling Pepper about everything she couldn't remember, especially about their relationship. Pepper was allowed to leave the medical bay and go home with her friends that night.

 **25** **th** **December**  
Natasha and Pepper woke up early Christmas morning in Natasha's bed. They had gone to Pepper's room first, but Pepper had said Natasha's room felt more like home, so they slept there. They got up and got dressed, then headed to the main floor with the Christmas presents. Natasha placed the presents on the coffee table and joined Pepper in the kitchen. Pepper sat at the island while Natasha made them coffee.

"I don't even remember simple things, like where the mugs are and things. Natasha went through the fridge, cupboards and draws, showing Pepper where everything was.

"Now you know. But if you can't find something, I'll be happy to help you."

Gradually all their friends gravitated to the main floor living room, placing their presents near the ones Natasha and Pepper brought. Natasha took Pepper's hand and they walked over to the couch to sit down.

"Shall we open the presents?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, I'm wondering what I got you all." Everyone laughed. Tony and Steve started handing out presents, reading the names on the labels. Everyone opened their presents and said thank you to the giver. Tony had gotten Bruce a top of the line microscope. Bruce got Tony a state of the art telescope. Pepper had gotten Natasha an expensive leather jacket. She modelled it for Pepper, who appreciated it greatly. Natasha had gotten Pepper a long, beautiful blue dress.

Mid day, the Christmas chicken was ready, as well as the potatoes and vegetables. Steve served the food and everyone sat down at the dining room table. Once the food was on the table, everyone pulled Christmas crackers and got a Christmas hat each. They all dug in to their food and talked to each other. Everyone had a story to tell Pepper, some funny, some happy. When they had finished eating, they each told the joke from their Christmas crackers. Steve got the Christmas cake and served it with ice cream.

After everyone had eaten, had their cake, they all sat down in the living room to watch the horror Christmas film Krampus. Natasha sat on the couch and Pepper sat next to her leaning into her side. After the film, everyone got their secret Santa presents and returned to the main floor living room. Tony gave his present to Bruce and announced that he was Bruce's secret Santa. Bruce gave his to Steve. Steve gave his to Thor. Thor gave his to Clint. Clint gave his to Natasha. Natasha gave hers to Pepper.

"Merry Christmas, I'm your secret Santa." Natasha told Pepper. She watched as Pepper opened the present. Under the wrapper was a big jewellery box. Inside the box was a gold heart shaped locket. Inscribed on it was, _'Yours always'_ and inside was a photo of her and Natasha.

"Thank you Nat, I love it."

"I saw it and thought it would be perfect. Shall I put it on for you?"

"Yeah please." Natasha took the necklace out of the box and draped it around Pepper's neck, doing it up at the back and fixing her hair. Pepper touched the locket, thinking about the picture inside it. "I feel bad that I don't remember anything."

Natasha walked around to face Pepper and cupped her cheek. "Don't. It's not your fault. You got injured. I'm just glad you're alive and healing." Pepper could see the love shining in Natasha's eyes and smiled at her.

"You're really sweet." Pepper leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Natasha's lips.

"I love you Pepper."

"I love you Natasha. I may not remember anything, but I know how I feel."

"Come on guys, we're playing Singstar Party." Clint interrupted their moment. They played Singstar Party, using their phones as microphones and sang Christmas songs. They played for several hours, everyone singing a few songs. Finally when it was time for sleep, Natasha and Pepper went to Natasha's room and got into bed.

"I hope I get my memory back soon. I want to remember every moment with you."

"I'm sure you will soon enough." They shared a loving kiss before falling asleep in each other's arms.


End file.
